


Friend In Me

by orphan_account



Category: Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live RPF
Genre: Angst, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22993249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Michael’s going through some tough times and Colin is there with him through thick and thin.
Relationships: Michael Che & Colin Jost, Michael Che/Colin Jost
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Friend In Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lesbianbitchboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianbitchboy/gifts).



> Based off of “ I don’t know if you’re taking submissions, but If you do, I really think a fic where a worried Colin helps Che when he like hits a low point or something. Like in this weeks Update, where he kinda broke down... would be really cute!”

Colin had been friends with Michael Che long before SNL. They had spent countless late nights just talking about life, all-day binge watching shows, had made each other laugh so hard their sides hurt.

Needless to say, Colin could read him better than most. He’d seen him sad, happy, and everything in between. 

Colin had known that Monday wasn’t gonna be Michael’s best day, had known since Michael asked him to get him a Frappe instead of his usual black coffee. He only drank the sugary coffee when he was in a bad mood, the sugar gave him a rush that tended to cheer him up.

He was shocked when he walked into the office and saw Michael. He has seen his friend cry, had hugged him as he had sobbed. But he had never, _ever_ seen his friend like this. The man wasn’t wallowing in his sadness, not really. To anybody else, he probably would’ve just looked tired. But to Colin he looked devastated. He was sitting at his desk, wearing a long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt and hoodie over it, sweatpants, Nikes, and a Yankees hat pulled over his eyes. He had headphones on, blasting his music so loud that Colin could almost make out words from across the room.

Colin walked over to Michael’s desk, waking up behind him and pulling the headphones off of his ears and leaning on him. “What’s wrong?”

Michael smiled sadly and simply shook his head, turning to hug Colin. Colin was shocked, but they stayed like that for a while, the rest of the world forgotten.

They pulled away at the sound of a knock at the door, and both turned to look at who it was. Leslie was there, a soft knowing smile on her face. “Heya boys. Boss man told me to find you and tell y’all to go find him.”

The men nodded. “Thanks. We’ll do that.” Colin said, squeezing Michael’s shoulder, earning a smile in return.

Michael remained silent unless directly asked a question by Lorne or rehearsing for the rest of the week. Colin managed to coax small yes or no answers from him, but that was about it, and Colin’s concern reached an all time peak when Michael simply stared at the TV when he turned on Breaking Bad Friday night. Michael never once let Colin watch it without at least one complaint. Never. Not since the very beginning of their friendship. The fact that he was now watching intently without a single complaint was terrifying.

Colin turned the TV off and nudged Michael. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He hadn’t asked since Monday, knowing his friend wouldn’t answer, but he had to ask now.

Michael shook his head. “Nothin’ you need to worry about, I’ll live.” He offered Colin a smile, which Colin reluctantly returned as he dropped the subject as Michael sank further into his sweatshirt.

When Colin got to the office Saturday morning he had a bad feeling when he couldn’t find Michael, who was usually in one of three places. He called him, but he didn’t answer.

Colin was about to go insane when he remembered he had Michael’s Find My iPhone password saved in his phone because Michael was too lazy to type it in every time. He pulled it up and followed it to Central Park, where he found Michael sitting on a bench, hood pulled up despite the warm temperatures.

Colin sat next to him but said nothing. He knew that Michael had seen him sit down, but neither man spoke a word. Eventually Michael turned to look at Colin, brown eyes piercing blue.

“How’d you find me?” Michael’s voice was rough, like he’d just been crying, which would also explain his red eyes.

Colin held up his phone, still open on the app and Michael nodded, looking away. “Look, I know something’s up. I’m not stupid, I’ve known you for ages, I should know when something’s wrong. But, I also know you don’t want to talk about it, and nothing I do is gonna make you. So, just know that if you ever wanna talk about it, I’m here for you, or if you just want a hug or some free beer. I’m here for you, no matter what’s happening.”

Michael swung his head back to look at Colin, offering him a smile, a genuine one that Colin hadn’t seen in too long. “I know that Colin. Thank you. So much. I mean it. You’ve always been there for me.” There was something in his eyes that Colin couldn’t quite place, but it was gone before Colin could figure it out.

“Hey, that’s what friends care for, right?” Colin smiled and Michael just shook his head with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess so. But I ain’t never had a friend like you.”

They sat in silence before Michael spoke up. “It’s been a long year Colin.

“It’s been two months, Michael.” Colin said in a gentle voice. “How is it already terrible?”

Michael gave him a look. “Well, let’s recap, shall we? January was maybe the longest month ever, we had the impeachment trial and the corona outbreak, plus the whole uproar about World War 3, and in February the only thing that got better was World War 3. Plus, let’s be completely honest, no matter how hard we fight it, Trump is gonna won again in November. My ex is trying to tell me that we have a kid, but refuses to let me talk to her in person, and, oh yeah, I learn that you’re thinking about leaving me. So yeah, not too great.”

Colin’s face softened. “Michael, I’m not leaving you. Not soon, anyway. Plus, it’s not like you plan on staying on staying at the show forever. Lorne wouldn’t have me or you forever, even if we wanted to.”

Michael shook his head. “Yeah, but that’s the future, man. The far future. I don’t have it think about that, and I sure as hell don’t want to. I dunno, it just seems like you’re movin’ on, ya know? I don’t wanna get left behind. I...I love you too much for that.”

“Hey, you’re not going to get left behind, Michael. Okay? I love you too. I promise when I leave we’ll still be friends, whether you leave with me or not.”

Michael looked at him suspiciously. “You swear?”

“I swear. I’ll even pinky promise.” Colin held out his pinky.

Michael snorted. “That is maybe the whitest thing I’ve ever seen you do.” But he still linked pinkies, shaking them between them before letting go.

Colin smiled and leaned his head on Michael’s shoulder, pleasantly surprised when Michael didn’t push him off. Michael simply rested his head on top of Colin’s, and they watched squirrels and tourists pass by.

Colin’s phone buzzed breaking the peace. It was a text from Kate, asking where they were. Colin checked the time, startled when it was already 1.

“We need to head back, they’ve been wit hip it out glorious presence too long.” Michael chuckled and they headed back to the office and the lives they had ahead of them together.


End file.
